The Three Saotomes
Part 12
A new beginning for Ranma.
Akane performed her kata in the dojo. Her fists cut through the air with speed and precision, unfortunately, it wasn't good enough. She stopped for a moment and glared at the floor with a frustrated look on her face. "Damn, still not enough."
"Why did you stop?"
The girl spun around and growled as she realized who had said that. "What do you want?"
"Well, how rude. I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson." Ranma got into a fighting stance and smirked at her. He was dressed in a dogi and had the same cocky grin on his face as he always did when he teased her.
"Shut up. I'm sick of your joking around," snapped the girl as she prepared to start again.
Ranma's face grew cold suddenly. "Who's joking?" He rushed forward at a speed she almost couldn't see.
"What are you doing? Stop it!" screamed Akane in alarm as she desperately avoided the super fast blows that seemed to come from all around her at one time.
"Stop me then!" snarled the boy with a vicious look on his face as he swept her feet out from under her and sent her to the ground. She rolled away and his foot landed where she had been moments before.
Akane stood up and slowly backed away from the boy with a look of horrified shock. "What are you doing? Why are you attacking me?"
The boy snorted and smiled again, it was not a nice smile. "You call this an attack?" He rushed forward again and forced her on the defensive. She blocked and staggered back as best she could, unable to stop most of the blows from connecting. Her gut was on fire and her legs had already began to bruise from the assault. Desperately she searched for an opening in his defense, finally her opportunity came. She lunged out in a clumsy punch at his midsection and gasped as the hole closed suddenly. He had brought his elbow down and trapped her. She looked up at him and saw his other elbow as it slammed into her face and sent her to the ground.
The girl rolled around on the ground clutching her face and slowly staggered to her feet.
"Up already? Well, I'm impressed. Come on!" snapped the boy as he took up a defensive stance. "I won't even fight back!"
"You bastard!" screamed Akane as she charged. Her frustration grew with each missed punch and kick as the boy danced around her offence as if he wasn't even trying.
"Sloppy, weak, slow," he taunted with his vicious grin widening with every insult. She screamed in rage and thrust forward with a punch. Ranma grabbed her fist and raised it while pushing at her stomach with his free hand.
Akane jumped back and stared at him in shock. "What did he do to me?"
"Well? I'm waiting Akane. You still haven't shown me how good you are?" said the boy lazily.
"I'll kill you!" Akane jumped into an attack again. She landed and performed a missed backhand and then turned into a kick. Ranma grabbed her ankle out of the air and pushed his foot against her own forcing her leg back, but not managing to put her on the ground. He then released her foot as she punched at him and forced him to jump back again.
"Humph, you're still too slow," he muttered. His eyes narrowed and he changed his stance again into an offensive one. "I've had enough fun for now." Akane never knew what hit her. Ranma seemed to blur for a moment, and the next thing she knew she was on her back on the floor. The wind was knocked out of her, and she couldn't even sit up.
Ranma looked down on her with his smile still taunting her. "You'd better do better than this tomorrow Akane."
"Tomorrow?" muttered the girl in a daze. That was when it hit her. He hadn't been attacking her earlier, he was correcting her moves. "THAT BASTARD!" she screamed, she was still unable to sit up though.
+++++++++++
"Saotome, are you sure that was necessary?" Soun looked towards the dojo with his brow furrowed in worry.
"You asked me to train her Tendo. Don't complain," snorted Ranma as he sat at the table drinking tea.
"Yes, but it seems a little harsh," said the man as he turned towards his future son in law.
"Don't be so protective, she won't be seriously hurt, but she's going to be real sore for the next few months. I've got a lot of work to do with her yet, so please don't think I'm going to take it easy on your daughter. She's got to learn to control her temper, and she's very sloppy on her offense. Her defense is better than I had thought though."
"It must have been those morning fights," commented Genryu.
"That's why I asked you to train her. This is a little more than I expected though."
"You wanted me, because you couldn't bring yourself to do things like this to her. I'll get her into shape Tendo, don't worry about that. However, she's going to hate every minute of it. I'm going to have to break her before I can build her up again. That's the only way to get past that nasty temper she's developed."
"I see, I understand what you are doing now son." Soun stood up and walked out of the room deep in thought.
+++++++++
Akane jumped out of her bed and screamed. Not because of a nightmare, but because of the bucket of ice water that had been dumped on her head. "Get up. We've got a lot to do this morning," said Ranma as he stood over her.
"What the hell are you doing in here? Get out of my room!" screamed the girl as she attempted to cover herself with her sheets.
"Throw me out," replied the boy.
+++++++
Genryu stood with his toothbrush in his mouth as he lazily got ready for the day. "Why'd he have to wake us up this early?"
"Quit complaining boy!" said Genma as he grabbed his youngest son by his neck and threw him out into the yard. The elder Saotome's eyes were bloodshot and he didn't look like he was entirely awake yet either.
Kasumi cheerfully walked out of the kitchen and smiled as her family sat around the table in various states of unrest. Nabiki had a sucker stuck in her mouth and was struggling desperately to keep her head up. Soun was flipping through the paper with his morning tea in front of him. Akane, was out in the yard getting beat up by Ranma again.
"Oh my, I'll bet Akane will be hungry after she finishes her work out!" exclaimed the elder girl. She looked out into the yard at the pair. Ranma was jumping around excitedly while Akane spat a rather colorful line of expletives at him while she was trying to brain him with a cement statue from the yard. The sky was still dark as the sun had not yet risen and both of them didn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.
"This was all your idea wasn't it, Daddy?" said Nabiki as she leveled her gaze at Soun.
The man said nothing and merely buried his face deeper into his paper.
Genma appeared with the half-asleep Genryu just behind him. "Come on boy! Your brother is training without us! Get to work!"
"Stupid Ranma," muttered the boy as he followed his father out into the yard. A few moments later there were four martial artists engaged in training in the yard. Lights turned on for blocks around the area with various people screaming for quiet.
++++++++++++
"Would you please introduce yourself to the class?" said the teacher cheerfully.
"Uh, hi... my name is... uhhh... my name is... hmm, what is it again? Dang, I hate this part of school," said Matin as he stood in front of the blackboard. He was dressed in a boy's uniform and had his books tucked under his arm. The boomerang was still strapped across his back though.
Genryu and Akane looked up at him with their mouths hanging open.
"Man, this keeps getting better and better," grumbled Genryu.
"Uh sensei," said Akane as she stood up.
"Just a moment Miss Tendo." He turned towards the new student and smiled. "Now, there's no reason to be shy."
"Shy?" Matin looked at the man in confusion.
"This could take a while," said Genryu as he put his head into his hands and sighed.
+++++++++++
"Kuno's absent?" Ranma arched his eyebrow and looked at the boy's empty seat. "He wasn't here all last week."
Nabiki turned to look at him and smirked. "I know where he's been, if you want to know it will cost you."
"I don't really care," said the boy with a shrug. "He's probably trying to train some more or something."
"Not for the last week he hasn't," said Nabiki with a smirk.
++++++++++
Kuno stood in the middle of the library and grit his teeth. "Curses! Why must this administration keep me from my destiny! Very well! If I cannot be permitted to train at home because of these cursed rules, I shall train here!"
"Quiet!" snapped the librarian angrily. She chucked another book at him and nailed him square in the head. It landed on the floor with all of the others.
"Surely, I shall ingrain this knowledge into my memory within a few moments!" cried the boy as he ignored the projectile. He sat down and opened one of the books. After a few moments of reading he stood up and smiled. "I shall attempt the technique!"
He walked to a large open area within the library and pulled out his bokuten. "The strike was made like this..." he slowly went through the motions indicated within the book and smiled as he completed the sword stroke. It was an upward slash strike. After a moment he tried it again, faster this time. "No, this is still not correct." Within moments he was slashing at full speed, performing the move over and over, and making small changes with each stroke. "Blast, this technique is more difficult than I had imagined!" He paused and glanced around. Students were staring at him in terror, several unfortunate people were lying on the ground unconscious among the remains of several bookshelves. "It seems I should have cleared more room for my practice."
The librarian was pulling her hair out in anger. "That does it! Get out now!"
"But, I cannot check the books out without the library card, and your form is impossibly complicated!"
"I don't care! You can have the damn books! Just get out and never come back!" screamed the old woman as she was reduced to tears.
"Surely you jest!" said Kuno.
"Go now!" said the old woman as she pointed towards the door.
"You have my gratitude," said Kuno as he picked up his books and bowed to her before walking out of the room.
+++++++++++
Matin picked at his food lazily. He was sitting across the field from Ranma and glaring at the boy from a distance. "I'll get you yet."
"You're Matin, aren't you?" said Akane as she sat down next to him.
"Huh? Uhh, I think that sounds right," said the boy as he looked at her. "Who are you?"
"My name is Akane."
"Nice to meet you, what can I do for you?" Matin smiled cheerfully. "Man, I'm such a stud! My first day and I've already got this cute girl talking to me!" he thought happily.
"You're Ranma's enemy aren't you?"
"Huh? Who?"
Akane stared at him for a moment and sighed. "That guy over there." She pointed to the oblivious Ranma.
"Oh! Yeah! I hate that guy!" he snapped angrily.
"Maybe, we can help each other out then?"
"I don't need any help to get him," said the boy.
"He's staying with my family, and he's engaged to my sister. To top it off he beats me up every day. I want him gone!" snarled Akane angrily.
"Won't your sister be upset?" said Matin with a dry smirk.
"No. She hates him too. The engagement was arranged," replied Akane with a small sigh.
"I see, I feel sorry for her then," muttered the boy as he poked at his meal. "I can't beat Ranma right now though. He's too good, that energy blast he used took me out too easily."
"Look, I know what happened between you two, but I know Ranma's style. My family practices it as well. I'm nowhere near good enough to beat him, but you..."
"Saw the fight did you?" said the boy with a knowing smile appearing on his face.
"That's right. I'll admit I don't know all of his tricks, but I know the counter moves for most of the Anything Goes style. Even if I'm not strong enough, or fast enough to use them myself."
"And you're willing to show me how to beat your family style?" Matin looked skeptical.
"I'll do anything to get rid of him. Look, I'll even pay you if you want. My sister has enough."
The boy held up his hand and motioned for her to stop. "I'm not a mercenary, I'll help you out though. Do you realize how long that will take?"
"A few months at least," admitted Akane.
In the shadows of the branches above them, neither of the pair noticed the shadow slip away.
+++++++++++++
"So, Akane is going to teach Matin some of the counters for the Anything Goes Style?" Ranma smirked as his brother finished telling him about what he had heard.
"Should be interesting. She should know better than that, we've been training all over. The counters she knows won't do much good."
"You're wrong little brother. They'll be quite effective. Our overall style hasn't changed much, we've just picked up a few extra tricks. That should balance things out quite a bit between Matin and me. If I weren't injured, I would have beaten him too easily before. Now it will take a little work."
"Just the way you want it right?" Genryu found himself smiling despite himself.
"Things are about to get interesting around here again. Kuno is training, I'm forcing Akane too, and Matin will improve as well. Xianghua should be healing up nicely, and I'll bet that we'll see Ryoga again real soon."
"Great, just what we need," said Genryu as his smile faded.
"You're right. This is exactly what we need. It won't take that demon much longer to figure out that we aren't in China anymore. When he does get here, I'm going to be ready."
"Wonderful." Genryu sat down and relaxed for a moment. "We'd better enjoy this peace while we can."
"You call this peace?" said Ranma as he turned towards the boy.
++++++++++
Ryoga Hibiki stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking a small town in Japan. "Genryu, we still haven't finished out fight." He stalked forward with a determined stare. "I'll find you soon enough, and then I'll tear your throat out!" He smiled darkly to himself as he walked.
"You are Ryoga Hibiki?" said a new voice.
"Who wants to know?" Ryoga didn't even bother to turn to face the newcomer.
"Huh, huh."
Ryoga paused as a huge shadow formed behind him. "What the?"
+++++++++++
Deep within the mountains of Japan, something stirred within a darkened cavern. It's long sleep disturbed as a lightening bolt slammed into the bolder that had once sealed it away. A tiny hand rose from the darkness as it struggled out into the world once again. "Akane!" It was promptly put back to sleep as another lightening bolt struck it dead on.
++++++++++++
Xianghua stood in the small lot just behind Tofu's clinic and smiled as she kicked her training dummy in half with a single strike.
The man walked out and smiled cheerfully. "It seems you're getting better."
"Yes, but I'm still not well enough to face him again," said the woman as she relaxed her stance.
"Hmm," muttered Tofu as he nodded in agreement. "What are you going to do now?"
"After I'm well again, I'll try to fight him of course," said the woman.
"That didn't work before. Perhaps you should try something else?"
"Like what? I have to avenge my brother!"
"Calm down. If Ranma is as dangerous as you say, then I need to get him away from the Tendos. I doubt if he's dangerous to them now, but..."
"You're right. I've got to get him away from that family. He feels safe now, and I doubt if there is anything he wants from them other than a place to stay at the moment. The instant he thinks he's in danger he'll turn on them to protect his own hide." Xianghua clenched her fist and glared at the ground. "I can't think of anything that might work though. Those two girls told me what they knew, they seem nice. I don't want to see them hurt by this."
"I pray that you're right. He's been behaving himself so far, but if he is a danger to them, he's a danger to..." Tofu shook with anger. "Damn! How could I have been so foolish? I never even thought about that!"
"That girl, she lives with the Tendos doesn't she?"
Tofu nodded silently.
"I'll do what I can. I don't expect any more from you," said the woman as she went back to her practice.
+++++++++
Kasumi sat with Ranma later that evening. She smiled and placed a cup of tea in front of him. "How are things going Ranma?"
"Ah, thank you Kasumi." He blinked after he realized she had asked him a question. "Not so well. Akane is going to be difficult for some time to come, Nabiki still hates me, and well, everyone besides my family, your father, and my little brother still thinks I'm a murderer. Add my old rival showing up on top of that, and the fact that there's an evil demon hunting me down that could show up at any time..."
"I see. I don't think you are a murderer Ranma. You've handled this much better than most people I know. I think you try to hard to keep other people from liking you though."
"Hmm, maybe you're right. I'll admit I've done a bit of that since I came here. I don't really want to get married again. I'm still not over the last time I'm afraid."
"I wish I could say I understand," said the girl.
"No. No, you don't," said Ranma as he stared off into space.
"Still, even when you're trying to act that way. You still try and do what's best for those around you. Like Akane, I know you're trying to help her despite how you treat her. You've mostly ignored Nabiki, even though you're engaged to her. As for me, you haven't done much really. I suppose that's because we don't spend much time together."
"Well, there is that. I kind of like the fact that someone knows what's really going on. Plus, I don't really need to get you mad at me. I think I'd have a hard time doing that anyway. You seem to see the best in people, even when there isn't much good there to begin with."
"Oh. Thank you. I think," said Kasumi with a slightly confused look on her face.
"Don't dwell on it too much Kasumi. I wasn't really thinking when I said that," replied the boy with a small smirk. He sipped at his tea and placed it on the table again. "It kind of makes me wonder what tomorrow will bring. Things are about to get rough again I'd say. This time, I'll be ready for it though." He smirked confidently as he said this and sat in silence after that. Kasumi stood up and walked out of the room to prepare dinner.
++++++++++++++
Next time: The first arrival. Things are going to start happening fast in Nerima. Two months after Ranma started training Akane, the first of these events begin. Is Ranma as ready as he thinks he is?
Short Chapter this time. This one is mostly for set up. The Saotomes are going to have their hands full after this for a while.
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
